It’s time to ask some hard questions of the candidates running in Grayson County. We are sitting in one of the most conservative counties in Texas and yet we have a rampant problem with Republicans that say all the right things to get elected, then once elected they take a hard turn left away from conservative values consistent with the people of our county.
With this in mind, let’s consider Hillary Luckett Clark, a Republican candidate for Judge of County Court 2 in Grayson County. At a public forum, a question came up asking the candidates to discuss their Republican credentials. Both of her opponents sternly expressed their disgust with mask and vaccine mandates and aligned themselves quite strongly with a conservative position against such mandates. While Hillary claimed to echo the general position of her opponents, she could not with any level of honesty make the claim that she is against mandates… because her recent history shows that she is adamantly in favor of such mandates.
Background
Prior to her current campaign for Judge, Hillary was President of the Sherman ISD School Board and presided over a specific public school board meeting dealing with a mask mandate. The comments she made at that meeting raise real questions about Hillary’s core political beliefs and how she might wield her power as a judge. In our opinion, there is a strong possibility that Hillary would preside as a left-leaning activist judge despite her campaign rhetoric to the contrary.
At a public school board meeting on September 20, 2021, the Sherman ISD experienced dedicated backlash for their ill-advised forced mask policy. This policy was in direct defiance of Governor Abbott’s executive order GA-38 that banned mask mandates in Texas. As President of the Sherman ISD School Board, Hillary along with much of the school board embraced an activist role when they voted to defy this executive order and implement policy forcing students to wear masks. As community and legal pressure mounted, the board eventually voted to rescind the mask mandate, prompting a passionate five minute speech by Hillary Clark that can fairly be summarized as:
- Pro mask mandates
- Pro vaccine for public school students
- Attacks on Abbott for abusing his power (from a left perspective)
- Attacks on Paxton for abusing his power (from a left perspective)
- Attacks on the Republican Party as the source of legal costs
You can watch this speech yourself here: Hillary’s Remarks on Mask Mandates
During this period of mask mandates, School Board President Hillary Clark was acting as a left-leaning activist. She was acting unlawfully and conspiring against the wishes of the community. Her personal ideology was clearly central to her actions and comments.
If she applied these same characteristics to a role as judge, it would fit this definition like a glove:
This is concerning and brings up a lot of unanswered questions for a candidate running as a Republican while claiming they would rule fairly and without bias.
Liberal Judicial Activism is a Concern
In her position as President of the Sherman ISD school board she was willing to defy an executive order from Governor Abbott and in doing so defy the state education code that forbid the use of face coverings as a form of punishment. She had her personal beliefs and then acted on them despite their contradiction with current legal limitations.
“I believe the governor is overstepping and abusing his executive powers and abusing the legislative intent of the Texas Disaster Act of 1975.”
Hillary Clark
“I believe the governor cares more about the health of inmates and those incarcerated than the lives of Texas public school children”
Hillary Clark
Political Affiliation is a Concern
The attacks on Abbott, Paxton, and the Republican party are from an authoritarian-left perspective, not a conservative-right position. Hillary uses liberal arguments to make her case and seems unable to discern between hard science and propaganda.
“This is not a political issue, however, our governor and attorney general, who took oaths to protect the citizens of the state of Texas, are willing to set aside science and put partisan politics ahead of the lives of Texas school children.”
Hillary Clark
“Additionally, they have used taxpayer dollars to sue a fellow government entity… So when this board is accused of using taxpayer dollars in a frivolous lawsuit… please remember who initiated the lawsuit…the plaintiff, the state of Texas… and that party is the one responsible for the unnecessary waste.”
Hillary Clark
“Therefore, only the attorney general’s position was presented to the judge who conveniently is a Governor Abbott appointee from outside Grayson County and not familiar with what’s going on in Grayson County….”
Hillary Clark
“I would like to remind everyone that this is a non-partisan board. There is not an R or a D next to any one of our names. This is not about politics, this is not about individual rights… this is about protecting others and especially about protecting the least of these… our children.”
Hillary Clark
“This is about caring for our fellow man, and having compassion for fellow humanity.”
Hillary Clark
Temperament is a Concern
During the school board meeting, Hillary’s temperament and demeanor was unsuitable for a Judge. She was not interested in hearing the opinions of those opposed to her position and she intentionally looked away from those speakers. In addition, she mishandled her leadership role, was quick to threaten expulsion, and showed little respect for those presenting views counter to her beliefs.
Hillary is adamantly pro-mask and pro-vaccine
There are not many republicans that could make such a passionate plea for masks. It cannot be said that she was “just following along” or that she “was on the fence.” She was adamant that masks must be worn by all of the children and young adults attending Sherman ISD… a position she maintained after the mandate was rescinded.
“I am begging all of our staff, all of our students… keep wearing masks and please get vaccinated if you are able… and I am sorry that the governor has tied our hands.”
Hillary Clark
With these concerns highlighted, the question remains: Would Hillary be a left-leaning activist judge if elected to that role in Grayson county?
While it is impossible to predict the future, we would encourage people to consider the details of this watershed mask-mandate series of events and Hillary’s passionate speech, and then come to your own conclusion. Our conclusion is that the risk of electing a left-leaning activist judge is real and for us Hillary is a hard pass.
After a thorough vetting process, Grayson County Conservatives has endorsed Vanessa Vice for Judge for County Court 2. We believe she will be a fair judge who is tough on crime while upholding the constitution and values we, as conservatives, hold so dear.
Grayson County Conservatives 
Excellent commentary of the facts! I was at those Sherman School Board meetings an witnessed Hillary Luckett Clark’s reactions & heard her comments. She does not have the temperament or common sense to be an impartial judge.
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I attended that meeting you you folks. Not only did she say those things, but she scolded the community members who were standing against the SISD Boards mandates
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Cannot understand your comments against Abbott. He was a clear border patrol advocate believing strongly as an advocate for Texas! He should be rewarded! By and large a Republican and a conservative it is time we vote for individuals and not parties.
Go Trump! No so-called conservatives trying to ingratiate themselves !
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Hi Ted, GCC has endorsed three conservative candidates for the Republican primary, Chad Prather, Don Huffines and Col. Allen West. All three of these candidates hold strong conservative positions and values. We support the “Any Republican but Abbott” strategy and hope to force Abbott into a run-off against on of theses three candidates. This will happen if Abbott is unable to get more than 50% of the Republican primary votes. This poses no risk of getting a Democrat in office because it is a Republican primary.
We do NOT support Abbott for many reasons starting with the tyrannical way that he dealt with COVID. Abbott closed private businesses that he deemed non-essential, he forced masks, he isolated the elderly, he funded privacy-invading contact tracing to the sum of $300 million… all of this without calling an emergency session and allowing legislators to represent. These action were not legal but he did them anyway. None of these are conservative action.
Further, Abbott has made many promises but in realty he has accomplished very little when it comes to the Republican priorities. He’s been in office for seven years and still the border is wide-open. He talks a lot about this issue, but accomplishes nothing.
Abbott signed legislation last year that removed the felony penalty for voter fraud and replaced it with a misdemeanor.
Finally, in the last session Abbott killed bills that conservatives promoted… one example of this is the child gender mutilation bill that would ban sex-change surgeries on children. He would not allow that to gain traction even though it was highly pushed by conservatives and would have been an easy to pass bill. It’s not surprising that Abbott, Patrick and Phelan received $2.47 million in campaign donations from a pro-gender mutilation surgery group. Abbott, Patrick and Phelan Shut Down Child Protection Bills After Taking $2.47 Million from PACS Affiliated with Pediatric Gender Modification Clinics
And that’s just a start as a quick response… we do plan to write a blog entry on this subject to better inform voters.
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